New task force looks to boost Northeast Ohio music industry
Things are looking up for local musicians and venue owners with the creation of Cuyahoga LIVE!, a task force focused on strengthening Northeast Ohio's music scene.
Why it matters: The task force, led by Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne, represents one of the most significant partnerships in Cleveland history between local government and the live entertainment industry.
Catch up quick: Cuyahoga LIVE! comes on the heels of the 2023 Greater Cleveland Music Census, which surveyed nearly 2,800 industry professionals, venue owners and musicians.
The resulting 24-page report found that Cleveland has a "relatively healthy music ecosystem," but improvements are needed.
That includes better marketing and audience development, tax breaks and grants for venues, and more inclusivity.
It also suggested creating a local music commission to manage initiatives.
The intrigue: The first move for Cuyahoga LIVE! is to form committees to examine ways to improve audience and workforce development, culture and belonging, and artist and industry support.
Cuyahoga LIVE! will serve as a precursor to a full-time local music commission in charge of implementing initiatives outlined in the census.
What they're saying:"This needed to happen," Sean Watterson, co-owner of Happy Dog and co-founder of the Cleveland Independent Venue Association, tells Axios.
"The goal is to identify what the priorities are for a music commission so that when we're at a stage where we get funding, we're clear on what we need to do."
💭 Troy's thought bubble: I've covered music on a local level for nearly 20 years. Anyone involved will tell you it's extremely challenging to succeed.
While it was already tough before COVID, venue owners like Watterson tell me it's gotten even tougher post-pandemic — recovering from financial hardships and adjusting to new industry trends.
Watterson says the difference between Cuyahoga LIVE! and other like-minded plans of the past is the involvement of a high-ranking local official like Ronayne, who listed the local music industry as a priority in his 2024 State of the County address.
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Time Magazine
an hour ago
- Time Magazine
The True Story Behind Netflix's Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy
In November 2021, the third Astroworld music festival commenced in Houston, Tex., the hometown of rap superstar Travis Scott. Scott had a personal affinity for the Six Flags AstroWorld theme park in Houston that had closed its doors in 2005, naming his six-time platinum certified 2018 album after it and holding the inaugural festival near the site of the demolished amusement park. After canceling the 2020 edition because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Astroworld 2021 promised to be bigger than the two editions before, expanding the festival from one day to two, while uniting tens of thousands of young fans who had missed out on valuable concert-going experiences since the pandemic began. 'It's a carefree world' is how concertgoer Kaia Redus describes the festival in Netflix's Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy, which details how the Houston celebration turned into a death trap with 10 fatalities, with the youngest victim only nine years old, as well as hundreds of injuries. 'It was a concert you didn't want to miss, and you knew it was going to be fun,' explains Sophia Santana, another survivor, with enthusiasm and certainty. The feature-length documentary, releasing June 10, is the first in a weekly series that digs into big event meltdowns that made headlines, created corporate scandals, and often cost lives. Directed by Yemi Bamiro, the film includes interviews with survivors and experts and uses footage shot on concertgoers' phones to explain how such a massive crowd crush happened during Travis Scott's headlining performance and what happened in the aftermath. What led to the deaths at Astroworld? Astroworld was organized by LiveNation, the biggest live event promoter in the U.S. bar none, and the company was eager to capitalize on Scott's 'rager' brand when Astroworld returned. As The Astroworld Tragedy shows, footage of fans breaking down fences to get into the 2019 Astroworld was used to promote the festival's return. Kirby Gladstein, a returning festival photographer, recalls her team was instructed to lean into the chaos of Scott's performances. Gladstein seemed anxious to share her perspective on the temperature of the festival and how the organizers lost control, as she believes the blame lies at LiveNation's feet. 'They hold so much of this industry in the palm of their hand,' says Gladstein. 'By talking about what happened at Astroworld, I know that I'm jeopardizing my career, ultimately.' (No representative of LiveNation is interviewed in the documentary, though their responses are included in text at the end of the film, and include pointing to the roles of SMG Global and the Houston Fire Department in setting sellable capacity for the venue, and stating all relevant parties were aware of event plans and safety codes. The company released their only statement on the tragedy the day after it occurred, in 2021.) The Astroworld Tragedy interviews crowd safety expert Scott Davidson, onsite paramedic Jose Villegas, and security guards Jackson and Samuel Bush (who were only hired hours before the festival began) to paint a picture of the poor planning that contributed to the festival's death tally. The mainstage was unoccupied all day, meaning that fans could camp out for Scott for hours in the hot Houston sun. It also meant that thousands of fans traveled to the headline set from the same direction at the exact same time, creating the perfect conditions for crowd crushing. On the left-hand side of the stage, fans funnelled directly into a pen that added more pressure to fans against barriers with no route of escape. Beginning at 9 p.m., Scott appeared on stage and the crushing quickly worsened; the most upsetting footage of The Astroworld Tragedy is taken from cell phone videos shot inside the pen, showing fans being asphyxiated and crushed in real time while Scott's performance blares unaffected behind them – while Scott would later say he was aware of some fainting and disturbance, he claimed to not realise the gravity of the situation. How did Astroworld organizers respond to the crisis? 'Stop the show! Stop the show! Stop the show!' shout fans as Scott introduces a guest onstage. Despite concertgoers screaming for help en masse, climbing up to restricted areas to demand help from officials, and calling the police, the concert didn't end until an hour after Scott began performing onstage. 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Yahoo
2 hours ago
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Vermont musician Reid Parsons' long road to debut album culminates with Burlington concert
Reid Parsons is a perfectionist. That explains in part why the 32-year-old Vermont musician took so many years before releasing their debut full-length album, 'Back to Back.' 'I have high expectations for myself in general,' Parsons, who uses they/she pronouns, told the Burlington Free Press in a recent conversation over coffee at Scout in Burlington. The long road to 'Back to Back' has to do with more than a desire to make everything perfect. It represents Parsons' resistance to what society expects, and to embrace creativity. 'Art is one of the things I struggle the most with, and (with) being a musician,' said Parsons, who celebrates the release of 'Back to Back' with a June 12 concert at Foam Brewers in Burlington. 'I feel like it would be easier to do literally anything else. It's like my fight against the extremely strong pull of the tide.' Parsons grew up in Moretown, and their father and grandmother were both musicians. Parsons took part in the renowned music program at Harwood Union High School, noting that 'all the stuff I care about' artistically was prevalent in the Mad River Valley. 'I just got very lucky,' Parsons said. They went from Harwood to Harvard, studying anthropology and music at one of the nation's most prestigious universities. The music program was classical-heavy and 'super-challenging,' Parsons said, but they did learn about string arrangements, complex horn parts and the importance of musical layers and textures, all of which came into play for 'Back to Back.' Parsons created most of the material for the album during the COVID-19 lockdown. They missed performing with other musicians, so working on songs by playing guitar, keyboards and saxophone made it feel like a band. They also did so much alone because they were still developing as an artist. 'I just wanted to see what I could make on my own,' Parsons said. 'I didn't want to have other people's energy, positive or negative, influence my work.' Parsons even avoided listening to other music during the four-year process of making 'Back to Back.' COVID made Parsons realize it was time to carpe diem to make a full-length album. 'It was for many people a wake-up call about our mortality,' they said of those dark days of 2020. Parsons recorded a couple of mini-albums over the years, including one resulting from winning a singer-songwriter competition. That EP, Parsons said, sounded 'fast and nervous.' They wanted 'Back to Back' to feel more wide-open and self-assured. 'I like lush layers,' Parsons said. 'I am obsessed with musical texture.' The new album displays Parsons' near-flawless, alternately delicate yet firm voice placed over tasteful guitar, evocative trumpet notes and punchy percussion, particularly on the lead title track. 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Parsons played the songs from 'Back to Back' at a recent rehearsal with the musicians who will perform as their backing band for the Foam Brewers show. 'It was so (expletive) cool to hear,' they said, as hidden qualities of the songs emerged. 'It was like this wave of euphoria.' WHAT: Reid Parsons album-release concert WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday, June 12 WHERE: Foam Brewers, Burlington INFORMATION: Free. Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@ This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont musician Reid Parsons celebrates album with Burlington show
Boston Globe
3 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Paul English and Rachel Cohen's grand wedding at an Irish five star resort was the stuff of fairy tales
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Paul joined her on a trip to Florida to meet her family. 'It was one of those moments of 'What are we doing? Where do we want this to go?'' explains Rachel. 'Because it could either be like, we leave it as is... casual and just fun, or do we want to try to make this work?' Related : Rachel had found herself falling for Paul's good humor and 'approach to humanity.' Both had been frequent daters before they met, and the contextual contrast, for Rachel, helped: 'When you meet people with substance, it's different,' she says. 'He felt like a different level — it drew me in.' Advertisement In addition to a boots-on-the-ground planning team in Ireland, Rachel turned to Etsy, Canva, and her own graphic design skills to create personalized surprises for their guests — from a Paul-Rachel-themed Monopoly board that was left in the resort's sitting rooms to themed newspapers with information about the two and the weekend ahead. 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Rachel gown is by designer Monique Lhuillier; Paul's tuxedo is by Pal Zileri. Christina Brosnan And after Paul proposed that September — moments before the 60th birthday party Rachel had planned for him at Warehouse XI in Somerville — their international mileage ramped up as they prepared for a wedding in Ireland. The multi-day destination celebration took place at the 19th-century former manor home-turned-five-star golf resort named They worked with Irish wedding planner Advertisement American-born Irish dancers and social media stars The Gardiner Brothers were one of several acts that paid tribute to Irish culture throughout the weekend. The duo performed during dinner, but also "dance bombed" the couple during their reception entrance. Christina Brosnan The extravaganza kicked off Friday afternoon; the couple aimed to surprise and delight. A welcome party featured performers who wrote original poems, played the lira, and passed telegrams between guests. By evening, the manor Tack Room was transformed for live music, burlesque, and magic — and a tight five by Paul — before guests were sent to bed with late-night snacks delivered in custom boxes from 'Koko's pizzeria.' (One of the many custom elements Rachel had designed.) They wed in the afternoon on April 26. While they had anticipated rain (it's Ireland), the ceremony took place under blue skies. The couple had legally tied the knot in a New York City Hall ceremony in January, but their April 'I do's were especially poignant, featuring vows they had written themselves. 'I wanted [our guests] to know what a good human Paul is — a good father, grandfather, partner, businessman,' says Rachel of her vows. 'I wanted people to see that it's more than just the one version that they know... or get to see." The giant (inflatable) polar bear is a running joke for the couple who first saw a street artist wearing the costume while on a trip to Berlin, Germany. Rachel ordered a version of the costume as surprise at Paul's 60th birthday, where it hovered over the pair while he proposed. It would have been rude then not invite the bear to the wedding. Christina Brosnan Rachel's design directive for the black tie optional reception had been 'magical, secret garden.' In the manor's Grand Ballroom, floral overgrowth hung among crystal chandeliers, jewel-tone velvet draped the tables and stage, where TikTok-famous Irish dancers newlyweds' first dance was to Aerosmith's 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.' F ol lowing t he wedding, they stayed a few more blissful days to explore the Emerald Isle. Advertisement The memories were plentiful , for Paul, the journey will always be his favorite part. 'When the flight attendant says, 'Please buckle your seatbelt,' I get really excited, because it means Rachel and I are off to our next adventure.' Read more from , The Boston Globe's new weddings column. Rachel Kim Raczka is a writer and editor in Boston. 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